The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century

The photo above shows one of the more creative ways I’ve seen a small business say that they don’t take American Express. If you’re wondering why many small retailers and restaurants don’t take AmEx, it’s because of the higher fees they charge for processing payment (3.5% versus the 2 to 3% charged by Visa and MasterCard). The blog of the money-management company NerdWallet explains that AmEx make their money on fees, while Visa and MasterCard do so through interest.

Note that they didn’t say they wouldn’t accept unlocked iPhones. In many countries, they’re the best barter items.

For some reason, I don’t think that this is any sanctioned part of the Robocop franchise.

Pictured above: Actual bartender Stefany Dalgliesh from Fionn MacCool’s in Toronto.

Seriously: tip them well!

The scene at the CBC Atrium in Toronto. Photo via Lauren O’Neill.
Click the picture to see it at full size.

Congrats to Team Canada on winning the gold in hockey!

For more coverage:

• CBC
• Global News
• ABC, who gave it a whole four paragraphs.

Click any of the photos to see the listing for this apartment.

If you’re looking for sub-$1000/month rent someplace in Toronto that’s a short transit ride or bike from downtown, you may be interested in this apartment in Parkdale, pictured above. That is, at least until you take a closer look.

Here’s what its ViewIt.ca listing says:

FABULOUS LOCATION IN PARKDALE. Be the first one to live in this beautiful newly renovated one bedroom apartment in a fabulous Parkdale location. New kitchen. New bathroom. New fixtures. New laminating flooring. New north star windows. New fridge and stove. TTC at the door 24 hours. Close to shops, restaurants,schools, cafes, parks, lake, hospitals, churches etc. Perfect for a quiet, clean, responsible, respectful, single professional with the following requirements: No smoking anywhere in premises. No pets of any kind. No illegal substances in premises. Looking for a tenant that will keep the apartment clean. Month to month rent. First and last month. Available immediately. Past landlord references will be required. For showing appointments please call [phone number redacted].

It seems like a nice student or starter place…

It’s hard to tell from the low-resolution pictures provided, but the floors and windows look new, and they seem to have given the place a fresh coat of paint…

…and there’s more headroom than many top-of-the-house apartments I’ve seen in town.

Judging from the photos, the place seems to be two large rooms — a living area with kitchen zone and a bedroom, where the bathroom is also located.

That looks like a nice bathroom set. In fact it’s so nice that you want to show it off…

…to the rest of the room.

I suppose that if you:

• are feeling homesick for your days in prison
• are one of those couples that feels comfortable pooping in front of the other
• live alone and never have anyone over
• establish a “the entire next room is a bathroom” rule when you have friends over
• set up some kind of divider or other barrier
• binge-watch Netflix and don’t want to choose between bathroom time and House of Cards time

then this place would work for you.

 

Found via Jan Burch.
Click the photo to see it at full size.

I wondered why the images from Ukraine looked familiar…

…they’re getting into some serious cross-generational, cross-cultural cross-dressing.